Delhi University Plans To Teach Literature Students Facebook Post Writing

Delhi University is planning to start a new course named Facebook post writing. This course will be part of the syllabus of English literature. Recently, the university established a core committee at the English department that dealt with the Choice Based Credit System. The new course, being talked about over here, was recommended by said committee. A senior officer in the department has also opined that writing necessarily does not entail serious and practical stuff, or even fiction that has been dramatized to a high extent for that matter. It could also include generic, and yet important, content. The focus – irrespective of the size and stature of the content – has to be on writing it in the right way.

Writing generic content properly

The official in question has cited blog posts and cover letters in the list of generic content along with Facebook post as well. The department has already sent across proposals with all the important details to each and every college under its banner where honours courses in literature are taught. It has also asked for their feedback regarding the same. Senior officials in the university have also informed the media that the proposed components would be included in Skill Enhancement Courses. According to them, the final framework will only be decided upon once all the feedback is provided.

The final deadline

The feedbacks are supposed to be submitted by Labour Day 2017. The approved draft is then expected to be sent to the Academic and Executive Council so that they give their final agreement to the same. The university has also recently decided to include Five Point Someone, the first novel written by Chetan Bhagat as a general elective paper for students of honours courses with the exception of English. As may be expected with one of the most-divisive figures in contemporary Indian English literature, this has sparked off plenty of reaction on social media.

What are people saying?

His detractors have said that they are in full support of the decision taken by DU since they feel that people must read the bad (Bhagat’s work in this case) in order to know what good is. Some have also gone ahead and poked fun at the said decision saying that it has debased the status of English literature as a source of knowledge. As may be usual in such situations, Bhagat has come forward to defend himself. He has called his critics “elitists”, “fakes”, “wannabe white”, “you-bloody-Indian types” and also has ‘sympathized’ with them because of how they are feeling as a result of his book being included in the DU syllabus.

Summing up

Whether this decision – to start a course on Facebook post writing – is a good or bad one is an entirely-subjective matter and it remains to be seen how the whole thing pans out in the end for all the stakeholders. What is interesting however is to consider the effect this course will have on the students. Facebook is a medium for short and snappy exchanges. It is not in practice for careful deliberation. After all, most people do it from the smart-phones and most of the times they do not even bother to reply, let alone check what they have written. Will that trend change? Only time has the answer and for now all we can do is wait.

I am from Kolkata. Like any other Bengali I love my fish, eggs and bhaat and sweets but I also feel proud to be a part of the biggest melting pot of the world - India. It is true that I need to go a long way before I finally call it a day but I have come some way and am sure will travel further. Cheers :)